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Wizards (1977)

Sci-fi September

#Something Borrowed (h/t Justin McClure on Facebook)

Wizards (1977)

RELEASED February 9, 1977 RUNTIME 80 mins DIRECTOR Ralph Bakshi WRITER Ralph Bakshi 

Stars: Bob Holt, Jesse Welles, Richard Romanus

COUNTRY United States LANGUAGE English 

STUDIOS Bakshi Productions 

GENRES Animation, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Streaming on: YouTube


The plot: After the evil mutant wizard Blackwolf's mother dies, he discovers some long-lost military technology and takes over her throne in an effort to be the world's biggest asshat. Luckily his good twin brother Avatar has decided to use his own magical powers for the good of all, even though it might mean using them against his own twin.

Random observations:

  • Hey! Mark Hamill! 
  • It totally looks like Blackwolf's design was borrowed for Rasputin in the 1997 movie Anastasia. 
  • I want a tarot deck based on this world. Is there one? I'm too lazy to Google. But if not, you should make one and then make millions of dollars and send half the money to Bakshi and one deck to me. 
I can tell you before I even get through the scoring that this movie is worth watching for the animation style alone. Layered effects that many thought Disney had the key to appear here, with a mixture of WWII stock footage, traditional animation, and drawn-on-film animation. It's a sight to behold.

There are similarities in some of the design and style with the 1977 version of the Hobbit, but they both came out the same year, so I guess it's not that surprising. 

It's rare that a film can show both the fantasy and science fiction genres so clearly. Usually they lean more on way than the other. Wizards gives us an even 50/50 of mystical fantasy world and dystopian post-apocalyptic sci-fi. 



0/1 Directing
.9/1 Cinematography
.8/1 Visual design
.3/1 Editing
.9/1 Plot 
.2/1 Dialogue
.8/1 Acting
.4/1 Soundtrack/Score/Sound
.7/1 Originality
.1/1 Rewatchability
Total: 5.1/10 Binge Bones

Verdict: This is definitely a niche film, and not everybody is going to appreciate it. If you are someone who enjoys science fiction or fantasy, this is absolutely required watching. Its downfall in its uniqueness is only that with little to no surprises on subsequent watches, it may not have much of a rewatch value for anyone other than Bakshi fans. 


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